Mono Fiber-optic Patch Cords
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The simplest form of the fiber-optic patch cord is a single strand of optical fiber surrounded by a buffer and protective jacket with connectors at both ends.
The optical fiber core diameter and its numerical aperture (NA) define the coupling efficiency into the fiber.
The most popular optical fiber core diameters for optogenetics and fiber photometry experiments are those with 200 µm and 400 µm core diameters. As for the numerical aperture of the fiber, smaller 0.22 NA is suitable for laser light sources, while for incoherent light sources, like LEDs, it is recommended to use 0.5 NA and higher all the way from the light source to the sample.
Comparison Table : Patch cord Optical Fiber Type Optical Fiber Type Borosilicate Silica/Silica Silica/Polymer Plastic Core Glass Glass Glass Plastic Cladding Glass Glass Polymer Polymer Numerical Aperture 0.66 0.22 - 0.37 0.48 - 0.57 0.50 - 0.63 Flexibility Poor Good Good Excellent Auto-Fluorescence Good Excellent Good Poor RECOMMENDED USE : Fiber Photometry N/A
(too fragile)
Good* Good* Not recommended
(high AF)
Optogenetics LED Source N/A
(too fragile)
Not recommended
(low NA)
Good BEST Optogenetics Laser Source N/A
(too fragile)
BEST Good Good
* For Fiber photometry, we recommend low-autofluorescence optical fiber patch cords.
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